Cool Natalie's Cool Blog

Far from home, no-one will ever know our names, but the bard's song will remain.  The official blag of award-winning speculative fiction author Her Esteemed Majesty Natalie H. Ironside, rightful queen of the Angelcynn. MtF Transsexual woman (TME).  Known crime-liker, drug-doer, sex-haver, government-hater, and 2A supporter. An influencer for the problematic transsexual lifestyle (she/her). 33yo, IWW Freelance Journalists Union member, union proud and red as a London bus.  Native Florida megafauna stan blog, iguana-hater, #1 anti-disney partisan.  Avoidant psychotic; I identify as mad.  Follow for all sorts of fantastical tales of swashbuckling adventure and errant ribaldry.  Blacklist "in the court of the nameless queen" if you don't want to read about fantasy erotica.

[natalieironside]

Natalie's Cool Website :)

The official home on the web for award-winning speculative fiction author Natalie H. Ironside, queen of queer pulps

(icon by @neladoesart)

Hi! I'm Natalie. I'm trans of gender and ace of sexual and I write dark fantasy and dark sci-fi adventure stories full of boners and thud-and-blunder action violence wherein no swash remains unbuckled, nor pot unboiled. I also blog about books and history and languages and I write essays and poetry sometimes, and don't forget about the many exciting Age of Empires 2 scenarios available at Natalie's Cool Website.

You might have heard my short story The Wishing Tree on the Tales to Terrify podcast! (now available as a zine from Grinning Kitten Press). Other stuff I’ve published to date includes:

THE LAST GIRL SCOUT: A post-apocalyptic wasteland adventure story and transbian romance about two women who fall in lesbians together and fight Nazis and draculas in the bombed-out ruins of Old America

LEAD AND ROSES: LOVE SONGS AT THE END OF THE WORLD: A collection of short fiction set within 23rd-century post-nuclear wasteland we’ve all come to know and love

IN THE COURT OF THE NAMELESS QUEEN: A collection of dark fantasy f/f erotica about sexy swashbuckling swordswomen (both cis and normal) and a giant scary monster lady in a far-off realm of adventure and dark magic.

If you're curious I'd really like it if you'd check out my Patreon because there's even more fantabulous treasures on there and you can subscribe for the low, low price of just one American dollar. Your one American dollar will go toward the ever topical "Natalie can make rent and doesn't starve" philanthropy fund.

I'm gonna stay here on Tumblr until they forcibly remove me from the premises, but I'm also on Pillowfort, Bluesky, and Cohost

I'm also $NatalieIronside on cashapp and I have a wishlist on Throne if u want to help me pick up work supplies or just kick me some groceries (please do I am very hungry):

Natalie Ironside - Wishlist | Throne

Send Natalie Ironside gifts via Throne. Browse Natalie Ironside's wishlist and support your favorite creator safely.

:)

[anarchistmemedistro]

hi!! over the past year or so, i’ve been radicalizing leftwards (does that make sense?), and while i do like to say that i have a pretty good understanding of things like socialism and communism and such, one thing i haven’t really been able to figure out is what anarchism is and how it works. like, i get the basic idea, but what with google being google and most people on breadtube not being anarchist, it’s definitely not as easy to research as socialism.

anyways, tl;dr: what defines anarchism and how does it work?

thanks in advance! have a cookie 🍪

"Anarchism asserts the possibility of an organization without discipline, fear, or punishment, and without the pressure of poverty: a new social organism which will make an end to the terrible struggle for the means of existence,—the savage struggle which undermines the finest qualities in man, and ever widens the social abyss. In short, Anarchism strives towards a social organization which will establish well-being for all."

leftward ho! thanks for writing. these questions are always difficult to answer because i don’t know where you’re coming from on your personal journey. but i’ll try to answer some of the basics and recommend some good resources to start with.

first of all, there are many anarchisms and if you ask three anarchists you’ll get five opinions. but probably the most prevalent form of anarchism is anarcho-communism, so while i’ll try to talk broadly from a general anarchist position, much of it be from an anarchocommunist perspective for simplicity’s sake.

at it’s most basic, anarchism is an opposition to hierarchy, to one person having control over another. it is a radical commitment to compassion and absolute freedom. like communists, anarchists want a moneyless, stateless, and classless society. unlike leninists, who falsely claim to be communists, we know that there has never been a good state, and never can be. they are by their very nature oppressive, and cannot be used as a means to an end to achieve communism. no group or individual can wield that much power over others and not become corrupted by it. absolute power corrupts absolutely, etc. so while we are committed to the fight against capitalism, we are also committed to the fight against the state. they are intertwined and must be defeated simultaneously. so we believe in the abolition of all government and the organization of society on a voluntary, cooperative basis without recourse to force or compulsion, and the abolition of money and private property, as the best way to ensure the basic and higher needs of everyone are met.

if you haven’t read it yet, the wikipedia article for anarchism is actually a pretty good place to start:

Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions they claim maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessarily limited to, the state[1] and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state with stateless societies or other forms of free associations. As a historically left-wing movement, usually placed on the farthest left of the political spectrum, it is usually described alongside communalism and libertarian Marxism as the libertarian wing (libertarian socialism) of the socialist movement.

Humans lived in societies without formal hierarchies long before the establishment of formal states, realms, or empires. With the rise of organised hierarchical bodies, scepticism toward authority also rose. Although traces of anarchist thought are found throughout history, modern anarchism emerged from the Enlightenment. During the latter half of the 19th and the first decades of the 20th century, the anarchist movement flourished in most parts of the world and had a significant role in workers' struggles for emancipation. Various anarchist schools of thought formed during this period. Anarchists have taken part in several revolutions, most notably in the Paris Commune, the Russian Civil War and the Spanish Civil War, whose end marked the end of the classical era of anarchism. In the last decades of the 20th and into the 21st century, the anarchist movement has been resurgent once more.

Anarchism employs a diversity of tactics in order to meet its ideal ends which can be broadly separated into revolutionary and evolutionary tactics; there is significant overlap between the two, which are merely descriptive. Revolutionary tactics aim to bring down authority and state, having taken a violent turn in the past, while evolutionary tactics aim to prefigure what an anarchist society would be like. Anarchist thought, criticism, and praxis have played a part in diverse areas of human society.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism

Anarchism - Wikipedia

i don’t know how much original theory you’ve read before, but i’ll give some reading recs. personally i’m a big fan of peter kropotkin, and found the conquest of bread to be a breath of fresh air after studying marx for years. others have recommended starting with errico malatesta’s anarchy or peter gelderloos’ anarchy works. and zoe baker (anarchopac) is excellent if videos or tweets are more your speed.

The Conquest of Bread

Pëtr Kropotkin The Conquest of Bread 1906

Mutual Aid

Pëtr Kropotkin Mutual Aid A Factor of Evolution 1902

Anarchy

Errico Malatesta Anarchy 1891 Freedom Press 1974, 1994. ISBN 0 900384 74 3. L’Anarchia was written in 1891, appeared in English translation

Anarchy Works

Peter Gelderloos Anarchy Works 2010 Anarchy Works was originally published by Little Black Cart and can be found in book form here.

Popular texts

Popular texts

https://enoughisenough14.org/2019/06/10/anarchism-a-very-short-introduction-by-colin-ward/

Zoe Baker

Radical Theory and History

Zoe Baker

I'm a trans woman (she/her), who talks about the theory and history of anarchism, feminism and marxism. I have a PhD in the history of anarc

getting involved masterpost

hopefully that’s enough to get you started but please feel free to ask questions, and there are many more knowledgable people here who can help as well.

[anarchistmemedistro]

How To Get Active And Get Organized!

Five tips for forming an affinity group Crimethinc: How To Start An Affinity Group Sprout Distro: How To Start An Affinity Group Rebel St

[anarchistmemedistro]

black anarchism reading list

do you have any recs for readings on black anarchism? i’ve been feeling pretty frustrated with discussions of race & white supremacy in whit

guides for protesting safely and other opsec

All the clothing, accessories, helmets, weapons, what site can I find them all on? Anon, please stop watching Fox for information about ant

[anarchistmemedistro]

mutual aid disaster relief master post

So I just found https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org/resources/ And it is AMAZING. I could share it as a link but many of you won’t click it

[anarchopuppy]

So, this isn’t the first post ever made like this, but I’m trying to do something a little different than just posting a bunch of links. I’m

[anarchistmemedistro]

and if you prefer audio, audible anarchism is a great resource

Audible Anarchism

Philosophy Podcast · 330 Episodes · Updated weekly

AudibleAnarchist

Audible Anarchist is a project started and operated by a group of volunteers that seek to bring important anarchist texts to the audio forma

[anarchistmemedistro]

anti-policing and abolition megathreads

Thread on research-based solutions to combat police violence - real good thread with sources The answer to police violence is not 'reform'.

talent upon the talented, freedom upon the free

This is the second part of my list of prison abolition and anti-police articles, because the last post was becoming annoyingly long. You ca

[anarchistmemedistro]

getting organized

Reblog by @kawaiimunism · 1 link

💬 0  🔁 659  ❤️ 729 · It's Safer in the Front · Faced with intensifying repression and state violence, there is an understandable inclination

[missmentelle]

This is a big, giant list of Youtube tutorials that will teach you all the basic life skills you need to know in order to be a functional adult. There are a lot of important skills that aren’t included in this list, but this should be enough of a basic guide to get you started and prevent you from making a total mess of yourself. Happy adulting! Household Skills:

How to unclog a toilet without a plunger

How to fix a blown fuse

How to fix a leaky faucet 

How to clean soap scum from your tub and shower

How to escape from a house fire

How to make a budget and stick to it

How to sharpen a knife

How to clean a self-cleaning oven

How to clean red wine stains from carpet

How to clean blood stains from fabric

How to clean grease stains from fabric

How to do a load of laundry

How to iron your clothes

How to test your smoke detectors

Cooking Skills:

How to tell if produce is ripe

How to know if food is expired 

How to properly sanitize a kitchen

How to cook an egg

How to make rice

How to make pasta

How to put out a kitchen grease fire safely

How to use a gas stove

How to use a convection oven

How to cook meat safely

How to use a stand mixer

How to use kitchen knives properly

How to make mashed potatoes

How to make grilled cheese sandwiches 

Health Skills:

How to stop bleeding

How to treat a burn 

How to do CPR (on an adult)

How to do CPR (on a child)

How to do CPR (on a baby)

How to help someone who is choking

How to save yourself if you are choking alone

How to read a nutrition label

How to treat frostbite

How to recognize when someone is having a stroke

How to maintain a healthy sleep schedule

Mental Health Skills:

How to calm down during a panic attack

How to help someone who is suicidal 

How to meditate 

How to stop self-harming

How to recognize problem drinking

How to choose a therapist

How to deal with disappointment

How to cope with grief

How to raise your self-esteem

Relationship and Social Skills:

How to apologize

How to cope with a breakup 

How to accept criticism 

How to deal with bullying 

How to argue in a healthy way

How to ask someone out

How to break up with someone

How to recognize an abusive relationship

How to rekindle a damaged friendship

How to speak in public

Job Hunting Skills:

How to tie a tie

How to write a resume

How to write a cover letter

How to dress for a job interview (for women/femmes)

How to dress for a job interview (for men/masculines)

How to properly shake hands

How to nail a job interview

Other Skills:

How to sew on a button 

How to hammer a nail

How to change your oil

How to put gas in your car

How to jump-start a car

How to pick a good password

How to back up your files

How to write a cheque

[sacrificethemtothesquid]

If there’s ever anything you want that isn’t on this list…youtube it. Everyone always comments on my handiness, but everything I know comes from an old guy and his iphone.

[practicalsolarpunk]

Hello! I live in a very small efficiency apartment where there is not a lot of wi dow space/the window is glued shut and the land is exclusively owned and maintained by the company. What can I do to incorporate more solarpunk practices into my life? Are there any plants that can still grow well indoors? I'm afraid to start up a water station or anything like that outside because I'm afraid maitenance will mess with it/remove it. Would it be better for me to do something like knitting/embroidery that I can more easily do indoors?

Hello! As a fellow apartment-dweller with not a lot of window space currently, I feel your struggle here. If you're concerned that maintenance will mess with anything you put outside, then it probably is best to focus on things you can do indoors. However, there are quite a few things you can do indoors!

Plants: If you're looking for experience growing things, there are a variety of plants that grow well indoors and with low light - here's one list. (I've heard spider plants and snake plants recommended to beginners a lot, but I've never personally grown either.)

Fiber crafts: If you're more interested in crafts like knitting and embroidery, go for it! I also recommend people who are interested in those types of things learn about mending as well - it's a great way to extend the life of your old clothes (and other things made of fabric) and reduce the amount you need to buy.

Cooking: Cooking is a great skill to have, but it can be a challenge in an efficiency apartment. If you have a cooktop or a crock pot, you can look for simple recipes that you can make with the space and tools you have.

Building community: One of the foundations of solarpunk is that it's about community. My favorite way to start, especially in apartments, is by meeting the neighbors. Introducing yourself is a great way to open a relationship. Tying in with the previous idea, if your entire building is full of efficiencies and you can cook a big batch of something in a crock pot, that's a great excuse to have some neighbors over for a home-cooked meal.

Share: Part of building community, it doesn't require any outdoor space. You and your neighbors could put together a shared pantry in your building. You could start a Free Box at your workplace. Talk to the people around you - what do they need?

Get involved: Solarpunk isn't just about growing plants and mending clothes - there's also an activism component that is how we change society as a whole. Volunteer with an organization doing things you care about. Find a local mutual aid group (here's some tips for how to find them) and see what you can do to get involved. Start your own mutual aid project. The size of your apartment is irrelevant if you're out doing things.

Research: Not being able to do things outside right now doesn't mean you can't learn about them. And many of those "big picture" ideas have a lot of concepts that can apply to the efficiency apartment life. Looking into the "7 R's" or permaculture can help you come up with ideas for more things you can do.

Also if you're really set on doing stuff outdoors, don't necessarily discount it, especially if you plan to be in this apartment for a while! You can propose outdoor projects to your apartment complex's manager. They may be more receptive than you think, especially if you can spin it to sound beneficial to them. (If you're proposing a community garden for residents, for example, it could be a draw for new residents, convince current residents to stay, be managed by you the residents so they don't have to do much to maintain it, and they won't have to pay their landscapers to mow/maintain that space anymore.)

Check out more ideas in these tags:

#apartment solarpunk

#dorms and small spaces

#community building

#activism

#fiber crafts

There's also some additional tips in this post and this post, which are earlier responses to similar asks.

I hope this helps! Followers, feel free to chime in with your best tips!

- Mod J

[everyday-cutephoto]

[whatcoloristhatcat]

black mackerel tabby with high white spotting

[louceph]

smirking bastard with grievous grin

[epicsause-official]

d*mn!

[iww-gnv]

Sign up for our branch newsletter!

It's an easy way to stay in touch with branch news and upcoming meetings!

Go to our website, iwwgnv.org, scroll to the bottom of the page, input your name and email, and you'll be added to our list, easy as that. :)

[scientificwitchcraft]

It’s hot, it’s steamy, it’s got (concerningly - for me at least, who is generally not a monsterfucker…though…maybe I am now?) sexy spiders. In the Court of the Nameless Queen is the lastest of @natalieironside‘s books, and is very, *very* good. Ironside is a fantastic writer (if you haven’t already read her book The Last Girl Scout, absolutely go do so; her worldbuilding is gorgeous), and this is just the latest example of her meaningful and enjoyable writing. I could easily go on about the smutty, smutty (smutty smutty smutty) scenes which are way too hot to have been reading in a dermatology clinic when I’m meant to writing down what’s happening (who can focus on how many actinic keratoses the doc is treating with liquid nitrogen when the Nameless Queen is doing *that* to Freydis? Not me, that’s who). But Ironside goes beyond the (smutty smutty) sex scenes to create a world that I, for one, am fascinated with. Honestly, I’m hoping to see more out of this world from her!

Also it’s very very hot. Like. So hot. Too hot. Help

[natalieironside]

:3

[natalieironside]

Late for work again because I got caught at a red light beside the sylvan fountain and I had to joust with the Blue Knight. Third fucking time this month. I wish the city would do something about that guy.

[natalieironside]

You never get this shit with the Red Knight over by the wal mart

[maximumsunshine]

Yeah, but at least you know how to joust! What are the rest of us meant to do until the city fixes the Sylvan Fountain red light, blue knight problem!?

[vosh-daemon]

The maverick Black Knight is the guy who usually deals with these gentry fucks, but nobody’s paying him for that. My boy’s spending 40 hours each week at Subway to make ends meet, and the whole town’s suffering for it.

[maximumsunshine]

I suppose this is what we get for white knighting the white knight and electing him mayor.

[natalieironside]

Ugh don’t even get me started on the White Knight. He saw me in the greenwood making great lamentous dole out of measure and he tried to call the cops

[maximumsunshine]

What do you think of the opalescent knight’s campaign do unseat the white knight in the next election? I don’t know what to make of him? I agree it’s time for change but do you think he’s the solution or just more privileged gentry?

[natalieironside]

By the faith of my body, I saw the Opalescent Knight comport himself unknightly and with shameful cowardice at the grand tournament last Easter Day and also he’s got no plans for fixing the potholes or extending the school & library tax

[renthony]

Intro & Pinned Post

(Updated Feb. 4, 2026)

Hi, I'm Ren! My pronouns are they/them and I'm in my 30s. I'm an author, dicemaker, cosplayer, and union organizer.

I wrote The Queen of Cups, a queer short story about a disabled sea captain undertaking the maiden voyage of their new ship. I'm currently working on part 2!

I run an Etsy shop with @kryptidkhaos, selling unscented beeswax candles, pride stickers, and--just as soon as I finish the first batch--tabletop gaming dice. You can follow our shop updates here on tumblr at @candlesandcantrips!

I manage the blog @covidsafecosplay, where I post and reblog things about covid-19, disability, sewing, cosplay, and related topics.

I have two Discord servers: one for artists and creatives of all types to chat and share their work, and one for covid-conscious cosplayers to do the same.

If you like the things I do and want to support me, here's how:

Patreon: Even if you can't afford to pledge, I post free updates and essays.

Ko-Fi: For one-time tips if you like my work or just want to help out.

PayPal: [email protected]

Venmo: @ renniequeer

CashApp: $renniequeer

My wishlist

Thanks for checking out my blog, and have a great day! <3

[hikikomoricomplex]

i just don’t feel like we as a society ever fully processed deedee megadoodoo

[hikikomoricomplex]

a cop pulls somebody over for a traffic stop when she gets flattened by a poop truck cause the driver of the poop truck was jerkin his shit nasty style and they report the cop’s name was deedee megadoodoo are you fucking with me right now????

[theehorsepusssy]

[scottishwobbly]

there’s shitloads of handy resources like this here: Seeds for Change

[practicalsolarpunk]

How to Grow Mushrooms on Woodchip - Chelsea Green Publishing

These days, growing mushrooms is all the rage. As you may have heard, you can grow mushrooms on pretty much anything; logs, milk cartons, even your jeans! Today, we’re talking about growing mushrooms on woodchip. It doesn’t matter if you want to grow your mushrooms indoors or outdoors, either way, woodchip is a great choice!…

[crimethinc]

We Are Not Demonstrating, We Are Fighting

Migrant Defense in Seattle, June 9-14

Participants in a series of clashes in and around Seattle describe how they have prevented ICE from kidnapping people at court appearances, demonstrating a way forward for the movement.

https://crimethinc.com/Seattle2025

[convexcave]

ok so instead of going on my usual the earth is doomed spiral I started looking into solar punk solutions and stumbled across the practice of permaculture & found a free 50 video series from the university of oregon on it if anyone else would like to learn abt ways we can actually start restoring earths whole deal

Permaculture Design Course - Oregon State University Ecampus

Permaculture Design Course - Oregon State University Ecampus

[anarchistmemedistro]

The Solutions are Already Here: Strategies of Ecological Revolution from Below : Peter Gelderloos : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : I

Are alternative energies and Green New Deals enough to deliver environmental justice? Peter Gelderloos argues that international governmenta

The Solutions are Already Here, Chapter One, A Wide-Angle View

Podcast Episode · Audible Anarchism · 11/01/2025 · 2h 14m

Agroecology - Wikipedia

[wispthicket]

Another cool resource with information on sustainable waste management and other environmental pursuits! https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/

This is a solar-powered website, which means it sometimes goes offline

[crimethinc]

Don't forget—you can access pdfs for well over 100 zines on a variety of different topics in our zine library!

https://crimethinc.com/zines

Print them out and put them at the disposal of the general public!